


Does It Count If I'm the Only One Who Hears Myself Cry?

by kemoiunder



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: BUBBLEGUM ROCK, M/M, Some angst, a lot of narrative, in Kazuichi's head, some fluff at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 14:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4526046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kemoiunder/pseuds/kemoiunder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kazuichi is in his own head for the last time alone, he's feeling dejected. Sonia and Gundham have left him to deal with his own devices.</p><p>Leon might just be the perfect person to help him. But is Kazuichi too stubborn to see?</p><p>Bubblegum Rock. Some angst, then a little bit of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Does It Count If I'm the Only One Who Hears Myself Cry?

Kazuichi had never been in tune to his emotions very well. This was no different. He had strict rules he lived by now. So that no one could betray him, they were very clever, he thought so at least. He really thought he liked Miss Sonia though, with her blond hair and her princess-esque presence. So he never wondered if he was really straight or not. Because Miss Sonia was a girl, and he liked Miss Sonia, so he was straight, right? Sometimes he still thinks that.

But lately, he really wasn't too happy. Sure Miss Sonia liked Gundham, so that was what was making him upset, right? The fact that she just up and left him for Gundham, it wasn't anything new. Kazuichi was used to this, he could get through this well on his own, he didn't need anybody to make him feel less alone, right? 

That was what he thought, that was really all he thought. Miss Sonia could go off with Gundham and they could have the best time and Kazuichi wouldn't care, right? Then why did his chest hurt so much? It was clenching tight, it shouldn't even be possible for someone's chest to hurt this much, but here he was.

There was a vague sense of loneliness in him, the pink-haired man didn't really know how to describe it. There had only been one instance where that void had been filled. And it hadn't been filled with Miss Sonia. A flash of red, the smell of baseballs, sweat, and stadium food came to mind. Yeah, that was what filled the void. That man. Well, that boy before, but it's been so long the both of them became men before Kazuichi could even think. Leon Kuwata.

So what if Kazuichi missed the Ultimate Baseball Star? So what if when Kazuichi closed his eyes and imagined himself happy, it was in the arms of that red-haired man? His hands moved on their own for a moment, and before his brain could catch up he sent a message to that man.

'I miss you.'

It wasn't too bad, once Kazuichi gained control back over his hands and deleted the conversation. It still sent, but at the very least his weakness wouldn't be displayed if Leon replied. It wasn't five minutes that went by when his phone buzzed.

'I miss you too, Kazu.'

The shark-toothed man frowned. What did that even mean?

'What do you mean?'

Even though Kazuichi was technically the one to initiate the conversation, he was still never sure when people told him things. He never believed them.

'I mean what I say, I miss you. What's up?'

The pink-haired man ran a hand through his hair, his beanie had fallen off so his unbrushed layers of hair were just going all over the place. 

'Wanna hang out?'

He immediately regretted asking that question, they hadn't hung out in years. No doubt things would be different if Leon did decide he wanted to hang out with Kazuichi tonight. 

Kazuichi admitted that he might've had a small infatuation with his younger classmate, back in the day. Screw that, he still had an infatuation with the red-haired man. Kazuichi could never truly get over it, he thought, if he never told Leon how he felt. So eventually, he would confess. Tonight would not be the night though. Half the time Kazuichi even knew Leon, the red-haired man had been dating Sayaka. And that was fine. That was back when Kazuichi thought he was straight.

'Usual place? I'll be there in fifteen.'

Aw shit, Kazuichi's heart started going a mile a minute. Fifteen minutes was too soon. Far too soon to meet when the pink-haired man was feeling so much. Maybe it would be like old times, though. Maybe Kazuichi could go hang out with Leon and pretend nothing was wrong. He was the one who initiated this, he shouldn't be the one freaking out, but he was. He was terrified; absolutely terrified of being rejected.

After stuttering for five minutes in his own head, the pink-haired man finally got dressed, his usual green jumpsuit would do, but his hair was another story. He was having a very hard time getting it to cooperate with him, and finally he just shoved his traditional beanie over his head. It would have to do, they'd probably just be catching up like old times. Nothing else would happen, it was all just in Kazuichi's head.

Their usual place was an old playground, hardly any kids played there. It was secluded, a place they could tell their secrets with no hindrances. Well, that was also years ago, it was where Kazuichi learned most of what he knows about Leon. It's also where he's revealed most of his past to the red-haired man.

When Kazuichi arrives to the playground, he doesn't see anybody, but on closer inspection of the swings he finds that familiar shade of red, his friend; his best friend from the past.

"Yo!"

Blue eyes turned on his pink, and if he didn't say his heart sped up, then he'd be a liar. 'Cause that's what happened. 

"Hey, Kazu."

Leon had a smirk on his face, as if he knew exactly what Kazuichi was thinking, but he wouldn't be smiling if he knew. He'd probably be disgusted. He knew for a fact that Leon was straight, had been forever. He had dated Sayaka, like he said before. The pink-haired man didn't know if the guy was homophobic, and it was only recently that Kazuichi even realized that he was gay. So he never asked before they stopped talking.

The red-haired man was still sitting on the swings, so Kazuichi took the swing next to him. He wanted to ask Leon how he's been, why he agreed to hang out with him, what he thought about their friendship, if there was a friendship left at all, but the blue-eyed man interrupted his thoughts.

"How have you been? It's been forever since we last hung out like this."

How could Kazuichi get out that he had never really stopped thinking of the other man, that even when he was with Miss Sonia and Gundham that the pink-haired man always had red on his mind. The bright red, almost orange, color of his friend, who was here right now, looking at him expectantly as if he had all the time in the world to just sit there and stare at him.

"I've been..good."

There was a slight pause in between his words, no doubt the other man picked up on it. He was always perceptive of those things, could always tell when Kazuichi was feeling bad, or even just needed some space. Why did he ever stop talking to this man, what happened that the two of them drifted apart so much?

"Just good? I'd have thought you'd be great, since being with Sonia so much."

Kazuichi frowned at that, had Leon been keeping tabs on him? There wasn't any other real way that he would know who the pink-haired man was around if not. 

"She and Gundham went off. Somewhere. Whatever."

He waved as if it didn't matter where, the two of them were away from him, and that was all that mattered. Leon's face looked confused, like he knew that Kazuichi was feeling was lonely, but didn't actually want to say it.

"So, what? You just sit around and sulk all day?"

A shark-toothed frown met the other man then. Obviously he was moping, why else would he have contacted the red-haired man, after all these years. It had been five years, since Kazuichi graduated from Hope's Peak Academy, and for Leon it was four. They weren't ever in the same classes, obviously, but they did see each other often. 

Leon had been friends with Sayaka, for starters, who had been friends with Miss Sonia, so that was actually how the two of them became acquainted back in the day. But then they realized they had a couple other friends who knew each other. Mondo and Nekomaru to start with, and by extension of that Hina and Akane. So they had plenty of people to hang out with together, so they did. Kazuichi never really even realized when exactly they started hanging out on their own, but it was innocent, simple sleep overs spent playing video games, eating pizza, showing each other their ultimate talent. That was where the pink-haired man fell in love with baseball, but only when it was Leon that was playing. 

That was also a tangent in his head, it'd been happening a lot lately, for some odd reason. 

"I'm not sulking."

A red eyebrow was raised, and obviously Kazuichi didn't blush at the sight, not at all. Now the pink-haired man was trying to look anywhere but the other man.

"Kazuichi, I wanna tell you something, but I need you to promise you won't freak out."

He could maybe do that, perhaps. But what if Leon was going to tell him that he really hated him all along, that he never even considered Kazuichi his friend during their time at Hope's Peak Academy? What if he was going to say that was getting married to Sayaka, or any other girl he might be dating now? There were too many possibilities, honestly, and the pink-haired man was going a little nuts thinking about it. He nodded anyway, knowing his voice would betray his nonchalant attitude towards whatever Leon decided to tell him.

The red-haired man turned away from the other man for a moment, as if drawing courage from the air, from the playground they were in. But before Kazuichi had a chance to react, Leon turned back towards him, and took one of the Ultimate Mechanic's hands. 

"Don't freak out on me, but I've always sort of liked you. And I still do. I honestly didn't know how to tell you, but I've always regretted not telling you back at the Academy. I know you don't like dudes, but I really needed to get it off my chest. Once and for all."

Kazuichi’s brain short-circuited halfway through Leon's spiel. The red-haired man liked him? Him, of all people? He was actually flabbergasted.

"Are you kidding me! But! You were dating Sayaka! You- you were dating a girl. For a long time."

Leon looked as though he wanted to say something, but Kazuichi was not finished.

"And you just expect me to believe that you like me? After all these years? I've liked you! I've /loved/ you for years!"

He immediately regretted saying those words, but his awful blabber-mouth betrayed him, like always. Leon was now wide-eyed, and looking at him as though he had grown another head. How rude, after the pink-haired man confessed, finally, the feelings that he has been feeling since their final years at Hope's Peak Academy.

Finally, the Ultimate Baseball Star started laughing. Kazuichi frowned, he was making fun of him, wasn't he?

Suddenly the Ultimate Mechanic was pulled into a hug, his face came to rest in the red-haired man's neck.

"I never dreamed you would return my feelings. This is surreal."

Another frown came from the other man as he raised his arms to rest on Leon's waist.

"Is it that hard to believe? I thought it was pretty obvious that I liked you."

The red-haired man shook his head.

"I had no idea."

They pulled apart from their hug, pink eyes meeting blue.

"I guess we have a lot of catching up to do then."

Blue eyes widened again, then they crinkled as Leon smiled. Kazuichi could tell that smile was going to be the death of him already. 

"I have no problem with that."


End file.
